Phillies Baseball

The Phillies will more than likely offer arbitration to free agent outfielder Pat Burrell and free agent starting pitcher Jamie Moyer by the league deadline.

The deadline falls at midnight Monday for teams across the league.

The Phillies and Moyer are close to agreeing on an extension for Moyer but the two sides are having trouble scheduling meeting times.

If Moyer does sign with the Phillies it would more than likely be for two years.

Burrell will more than likely sign elsewhere in the league, since the Phillies are only willing to offer him two years at the most, and he wants at least a four year deal.

If Burrell and Moyer accept arbitration, which is unlikely, they would sign one year deals for a set price.

If Burrell does not sign with the Phillies they will receive two first round draft picks from the team he signs with since he is a Type A free agent.

When the Phillies signed free agent reliever Tom Gordon away from the Yankees after the 2005 season they sent the Yankees two first round draft picks.

Those picks for the Yankees turned out to be Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain.

The 2008 This Year in Baseball Awards have a couple of Philadelphia Phillies listed as nominees in separate categories.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has been nominated for 2008 Hitter of the Year in Major League Baseball.

Phillies closer Brad Lidge has been nominated for the 2008 Closer of the Year.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has been nominated for the 2008 Manager of the Year after leading the Phillies to their second consecutive National League East title, the National League Championship and the World Series title.

Lidge finished the regular season 41 for 41 in saves while Howard finished the year with 48 homeruns and 146 RBIs.

Fans of Major League Baseball can vote for each individual category on the internet. Other categories include starter, rookie, setup man, defense, performance, play, moment, oddity, executive and postseason moment.

Pat Gillick has been nominated for the category of Executive of the Year and four Phillies have been nominated for Postseason Moments of the Year.

Those moments include Matt Stairs’ two run pinch hit homerun against the Dodgers in game 4 of the NLCS, Carlos Ruiz’s walk-off dribbler up the third base line in game three of the World Series, Chase Utley’s fake to first-throw to third in game five of the World Series and Lidge’s strikeout of Eric Hinske to clinch the World Series title.

The Phillies have reportedly agreed to a contract with veteran right handed reliever Mike Koplove.

The deal has yet to be announced by the team but has been reported by multiple sources close to the situation, including the Daily News and the Inquirer.

Koplove has spent the majority of his career in the Majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks but spent the 2008 season in the Dodgers organization.

He was 2-1 with a 3.46 ERA in Triple-A.

For his career, Koplove has pitched 254.2 innings over a span of seven Major League seasons with the DBacks and the Cleveland Indians.

He is 15-7 with a 3.82 ERA in 222 relief appearances for his career.

Koplove will be sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley but will receive an invitation to Spring Training and could crack the Phillies bullpen at the start of the season.

He more than likely will be battling with veteran reliever Clay Condrey for the final spot in the bullpen for 2009.

The 2008 Shout Factory Productions of the World Series on DVD is finally available.

You were able to pre-order the DVD the night the Phillies won the 2008 World Series but it wasn’t ready for shipping until this past week.

The DVD premiered in South Philadelphia last Monday night as well as theatres all across the Delaware Valley.

It chronicles the Phillies 2008 season from the end of the ‘07 campaign, to Spring Training, to the final out of the Series when Brad Lidge struck out Tampa Bay’s Eric Hinske.

This is the perfect keepsake for any avid Phillies fan.

My copy will be here in another couple of days. I cannot wait to watch it all over again.

Wayne Krivsky, who interviewed for the final assistant GM position in the Phillies’ front office for the 2009 season, has been hired as the special assistant to the president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail.

Krivsky interviewed with GM Ruben Amaro Jr. a couple of weeks ago for the position but lost out in the long run to Scott Proefrock, formerly of the Orioles.

Krivsky was the GM of the Cincinnati Reds for two seasons after spending 27 years as a high ranking official with Texas, New York, andMinnesota.

Krivsky actually replaces Proefrock after he joined the Phillies. The two almost switched positions.

Krivsky will serve the team in contractual negotiations with players as well as lending an informative voice when it comes to evaluating players on the open market.